Category Archives: Femme

As summer turns into fall, I’m stashing my sandals and thinking about shoes! Heels have been on my brain; specifically Kate Spade heels. I’ve always loved the craftsmanship and quality the Kate Spade New York consistently delivers. I’m particularly partial to the “Licorice” style. There’s something about the elegant pointed toe, the height, and the fit that consistently pulls me towards these heels. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some DVF heels, Troy Burch, and Schultz pumps. But Kate Spade has been on my fashion radar for so long, nothing seems to top them in my book. I’ll post some of the pairs I’ve recently acquired after the jump. Now, I definitely don’t need every pair and decided to make smart choices and sell a pair or two. I’m really into the blue croc pair and will definitely be keeping those! Its tough to decide on which pair(s) go to a new home. What do you think?

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While planning our wedding almost a year (!) ago, there were so many aspects and details to attend to, priorities to ensure were met, and just a lot to do!! I remember making a list of all that needed to be attended to, booked, and decided upon. One of most important pieces of the wedding for us was our photography. Pictures were something I wanted to hold on to forever and I was at a loss for who to call, what to ask for, and what prices were reasonable and doable. Reiss (the now husband:) mentioned he had a friend from college who did awesome extreme sports photography and weddings as well. So I checked out his blog and website and really liked his pictures and loved the ones from weddings he’d done in the past. They were extremely well done, contained all of the types of photos I would like at the wedding but had a unique flavor to them that brought them apart from your run of the mill “wedding pictures.” I liked that he had an organic approach to his work and his ability to capture natural emotion in his photos. They weren’t staged or fake. Thats what I wanted- real, unique and timeless….just like our marriage!

Matt was a blast to work with and produced images I’ll cherish forever. I know we’ll be calling him again to come hang out with us and for any pictures we would ever need in the future (baby pictures….someday)! So check out some of the work he did for us, and head to his Matt’s website or blog. If you give him a shout, he’ll be happy to make some amazing photos for you and have fun with you while doing it!

1. Shorter Hair. “Tucking” gives the illusion of shorter hair without having to cut your clients’ locks off. Simply take the ends of the hair and roll them under or even over. But why this style? Worn curly or straight, it’s an easy way to re-invent your image and temporarily try out any length.

2. Variety. There are many variations to “tucking,” including a vintage version that includes a flashback to the ’50s or even looks from the ’20s as worn by Nicole Richie. A modern “tucking” includes various textures and angles. Think Taylor Swift. To veer away from a conventional bob, opt for an asymmetrical or A-Line tuck with longer tendrils cascading or by adding a braid.

3. Length = Look. To achieve a faux bob, the hair must have some length (at least hitting your client’s shoulders). It isn’t necessary to have ultra-long hair, just enough length to roll under or over.

Tucking How-To
To start, use a great working hair spray like IT&LY Pure Definition Hair Spray. It allows you to create a smooth finish or enhance texture while imparting shine and a natural hold. To begin, have your foundation ready to go. This means having elements like the part, texture choice or fringe already in place. Loosely gather the bottom portion of the ends of the hair and tuck under into a roll, securing with bobby pins. This is where you can also decide how short or long you would like to go. Remember, for straight hair; opt for a paddle brush to mold a smoother, sleeker “tuck”. Trying this out with a wave? Use your fingers to arrange curls in place (brushing will only disturb the texture).

Once tucked, work the style with your fingers to fan out the sides. Apply a headband or for added volume and tendrils, use the tail end of your comb to lift or pull out shorter pieces. Finish with more IT&LY Pure Definition Hair Spray for shine and staying power. Want more styling options? Add an accessory or even slide the hair behind one ear.

Healthy and loving relationships with others are one of the most important components of a satisfying and healthy life. A variety of relationships bring joy and fulfillment to our lives. In fact, healthy relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners top the list of influential factors of individual’s overall happiness and life satisfaction. Many adults deem the relationship with their romantic partner or spouse as the most important and intimate in their lives and hold other relationships such as the ones with close friends and family in high regard. Romantic or platonic, our personal interactions and relationships with others start by how we see and treat ourselves.

Interestingly enough, the relationship that is the most important is the one that is most often misunderstood, overlooked, or forgotten about. This is the relationship we have with ourselves. Establishing and maintaining a healthy relationship with self is the first step in having one with anyone else. Loving and accepting ourselves is the foundation of developing healthy relationships with others. Its also one of the most difficult to understand and maintain. However, the outcome is undeniably worth the effort.

The initial hurdle of developing and fostering a healthy relationship internally is conceptualizing and understanding what one looks like. Developing a positive relationship with yourself starts with increasing self awareness and ultimately getting to know who you are and want you want. Ironically, getting to know yourself and your own wants and needs can be very difficult. Identifying personal interests and clarifying personal goals can be confusing and at times conflated with what others want for us. Taking moments to stop and focus on your thoughts and emotions can help build self awareness which enables the identification of personal desires. Consider yourself often by assessing your personal strengths and weaknesses. Afterwards, work towards completely and radically accepting both. Be patient and loving to yourself by treating yourself and like you would a close friend. Just like you wouldn’t talk badly about someone you love, try to stop your own negative self talk and notice your emotions when it starts to happen.

When I begin the therapeutic process with a new client, I usually start by asking about personal goals and desires for the future. I spend time assisting clients with identifying what they really want (not what others want for them) and what they don’t want. I find that spending time with developing a stronger sense of self and developing self care skills enhances the ability of improving relationship and meeting personal goals. After gaining a higher level of self awareness and self expression, many people find that they are able to stand in their own strength, clarify their identity, gain self confidence, and increase effective emotional expression. These results tend to yield improvement within relationships because loved ones also gain a greater understanding of that person, their needs, and learn ways to meet them.

Our hectic lives and vast responsibilities can easily take priority over personal care and self consideration. Prioritize yourself. When we stop taking care of ourselves, we are unable to sufficiently take care of anything or anyone else. Self care can come in many forms like ensuring physical health and healthy habits, engaging in enjoyable activities, and expressing our true emotions to the ones we love.

To assist with enhancing your relationship with yourself, I am including Virginia Satir’s “Five Freedoms.” Satir was a very influential family therapist who believed that caring and acceptance were key elements in helping people face their fears and open up their hearts to others. I challenge you to explore these freedoms and utilize them within your own life.

Virginia Satir’s Five Freedoms:

The freedom to see and hear what is here instead of what “should” be.The freedom to say what you think, instead of what you “should” think.The freedom to feel what you feel instead of what you “ought” to feel.The freedom to ask for what you want instead of always waiting for permission.The freedom to take to take risks on own your own behalf instead of choosing of only to be secure.

What do you think about the Five Freedoms and their influence on self love? How did you develop a healthy relationship with yourself and what steps do you take to ensure its maintained?

This look started with the tank top and I decided how can I dress up this very casual top. Instead of pairing it with shorts, I added mint jeans for a pop of color. Next came the boots which are slouchy and casual so it keeps the theme of the shirt yet still dresses it up. The perfect piece is the floral blazer because its fun and funky while tying in the entire outfit. Because this look is busy and loud, I choose a bag that matches the pants and kept the accessories to just a chunky ring. Wear this to sporting events, out shopping, day time driving. Have fun upgrading your tshirts!

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My sweet husband is often entertained by my passion for hair and skin care, or as he jokingly calls it “lady stuff.” The joke being the absurdity of gender binary concepts. Anyways, his question to my last post about Oribe was what products does he need if he indeed rocks his face off with Oribe (which it does btw, and with Bumble & Bumble too). So I’ve got answers because I’m sure he’s not the only one wondering what products to use after an all-nighter, spring break partying, too much sun, not enough water type situation.

First thing first, identify the primary issue resulting from rocking your face off. Is it dry skin, dull skin, oily/breaking out skin, or irritated redness thats putting damper on your face’s aesthetic swag? Start things off by washing your face. I know this sounds like no-brainer but really, many people don’t do this regularly and wonder why their skin is aging prematurely or looking dull. An amazing everyday face wash that has won tons of awards and is not even very expensive ($22 dollars and comes with the cloths). This is Liz Earle’s Hot Cloth Cleanser. Its the bee’s knees, also has an exfoliating component, and great for every type of skin. That leads me to the next step. For each of skin concern other than irritated skin, using a gentle exfoliant is alway a good idea. If you already use something like The Hot Cloth Cleanser and your skin is experiencing red and irritation from rocking it off too much, skip exfoliating for now and go straight to the next steps.

Exfol-ee- what?? Exfoliating is the process of removing dead skin cells; enabling skin turnover for new, healthy skin growth. Its important step to maintain healthy skin and should be incorporated in a regular skin care regiment.

Some people exfoliate hard core with a strong product 1-2 times a week. I prefer daily gently exfoliation, especially for sensitive skin. My go-to product for that is hands down Dermalogica’s Microfoliant. Its made of crushed up rice and it feels powdery and bit grainy- not the sand-like texture you will often find in harsher exfoliants. This product is neat because you pour a little bit in your hand and add a touch of water to it making it kinda pasty and gently (GENTLY) rub in small circles all around your face and then rinse. I’ve heard obsession over the Clairsonic tool (that contraption with the giant spinning brush) but it costs a zillion dollars and I think it can be too much for sensitive skin. Another nice exfoliant is Avanti’s ” Brighten-up”. It has enzymes in it that promotes cell regrowth. Its not a daily product, more like every other day depending on how dry or dull your skin is feeling. One tip- when exfoliating or washing your face, always do so very gently. Envision your skin as a piece of silk as your washing and exfoliating.

After this step, put back in your skin what has been taken out- namely moisture and suppleness. For significant dryness and skin irritation issues, go with a moisturizing mask. Most masks you’ll find on the market will do the trick so there’s no need to spend a billion dollars on a La Mer product or something similar. Pick one that doesn’t have parabens (industrial preservatives added to skin products) and is non comedogenic (meaning no oily compounds that ultimately make skin thirstier, creating acne), and products that are hypo-allergenic. When picking a mask or other skin care product look for natural ingredients like macadamia, grape seed oil and avocado. You can increase their potent power when you combine them with Cynergy TK, Phytessence Wakame or Coenzyme Q10.

I could write an entire post on face masks but for now I’ll give you some product recommendations that restore moisture. There are many others that do great things like detoxing the skin, pore cleansing, firming, brightening, etc. Moisturizing masks will be most helpful for dehydrated and dull skin.

The first mask I recommend is Caudalie’s Moisturizing Cream Mask. Given my entire post written about the Caudalie line, I’m sure you’re surprised this is my first recommendation. The natural ingredients and antioxidants in it plus the lack of all those nasty substances listed above creates an amazing product. Another great moisturzing mask is made by a company called Fresh and the product is called the Rose Face Mask. It contains natural ingredients like rose water, aloe, protecting green tea, soothing cucumber extract. Rose petals actually create a natural moisturizing component that is perfect for skin reparation. Think about that fact the next time your significant other comes home with a dozen roses!! Each jar of The Rose Face Mask is infused with 50 percent pure rosewater and an average of two-and-a-half roses per jar. Wow, honey, only a dozen…my mask does way better than that 🙂

One more is Peter Thomas Roths Cucumber Gel Mask which is super gentle, hydrating, and soothing irritated skin. A good pick for after sun repair. It has a plethora of natural ingredients and botanical extracts of cucumber, papaya, chamomile, pineapple, sugar maple, sugarcane, orange, lemon, bilberry, and aloe. Party hard and eat your fruits and veggies through your face.

Naturally following the mask, do your every day skincare steps- toning, moisturizer. Add a serum in between toning and moisturizing if you are so inclined and feel the need for the extra hydration. My favorites are Dermalogica’s Hydrating Booster, and Caudalie’s Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum and their Vinexpert Radiance Serum.

Top it off with a toner and great moisturizer and your skin will forgive you for last night’s shenanigans. I’ve seen eyes rolled over the toning step but it helps my sensitive skin. As odd as it sounds, Bumble & Bumble (hair care line) has a product called Tonic Lotion that is used for your hair post shower. It has Tea Tree Oil in it and can double as a Face Toner. Easy. If you don’t already moisturize on a regular basis, smack yourself in the face (because you are anyways), then pick out one that meets your skin care needs and budget. There are quite a few amazing drug store moisturizers that are really inexpensive. Some of the best drug store brands are CeraVe, Cetaphil, Aveeno, and Neutrogena. Choose one that has an SPF in it of at least 20 for daily use. I happen to love Dermalogica’s Smoothing Cream but it doesn’t have SPF so usually I Dr. Jart’s BB cream with 20 SPF and skip foundation. Better skin care equals less makeup!

Rock your face off and then put it back on before the next day’s board meeting (or whatever it is you wanna look awake for). Your skin and wallet will thank you now in 20 years when you really don’t care about raging all night and aren’t considering dropping crazy money on botox or zillion dollar anti-aging creams.

As we know there is an incredible amount of great products and product lines out there. However, its beyond difficult to pinpoint one line that just is phenomenal and diverse. I mean anyone with any type of hair need, texture, etc. could use almost every product and have a happy result. Well Oribe (pronounced Or-eh-bay) has overtaken the realm of hair products. Oribe’s dry texturizing spray is addicting; I mean we might just buy stock. Its part dry shampoo, part volumizer, part smell-good deliciousness, and a heat protectant all in one. I’ve been a long time fan of Bumble & Bumble’s Does It All spray since it does it all. Oribe’s does more. It can make hair thats dirty, flat, or unmanageable into a sexed-up , messy-hot style or refined, polished coif. You pick.

Another favorite is their…(and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Superfine Hairspray. I am NOT a hairspray person. In fact, helmet head is a severe phobia and gives me flashbacks to the early 90s and all of the waterfall bangs that shouldn’t have happened. This hairspray is a game changer. It has a light but significant hold and doesn’t create that crunchy feeling ewwwww. Since I cut 12 inches off my hair (yes, 12) I have found that with these two products from Oribe I can do just about anything with my A-line bob. Straight, wavy, messy, whatever- it can happen with these produbts. I would love to own every Oribe product that ever existed but be cautious: These babies aren’t cheap. The full size dry texturizing spray runs for $42 and most of their products price points are around $50. Being broke never looked so good!!

I suggest buying their purse size set of sprays to try out. There’s four in the set including a Hair Refresher spray (read: post bar hair), and an anti-humidity spray. They also have smaller sizes in many of their products and I bet if you’re super nice to your hairstylist (given your salon is an Oribe salon) I bet he/she will give you some samples to take home.

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Jane Melinda

I'm a Twenty-Something post grad working as therapist for Spanish speaking children and families. I love my work but I love to play too. Interested in all things planner or filofax related. Love skin care/fashion/beauty products reviews. Doing a photo shoot here and there fits my fancy and a pleasant break from everyday work. I'm passionate about equal rights, and if I can make someone else's life just a little bit better then I'm a happy lady.